The purpose of this proposal is to seek support for the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), which will be held at the San Diego Convention Center on April 21-25, 2012, in conjunction with the Experimental Biology convention. ASIP's Annual Meeting provides a unique forum for presentation and sharing of cutting-edge research in experimental pathology. The target audience and subject matter for the meeting are diverse but united by a common focus on mechanisms of disease. Reflecting the interests of the ASIP membership, the 2012 Annual Meeting includes strong components in neoplasia, including topics such as targeted therapies for breast cancer, metabolic aspects of cancer, and the pathobiology of hepatocellular carcinoma. The program comprises two full-day, single-topic meetings-within-a meeting, symposia, workshops, lectures by award recipients, and abstract-driven minisymposia and poster sessions. The program further provides a number of educational initiatives, both targeted and of interest to the biomedical research community as a whole. ASIP regards promotion of the career development of trainee and young investigators as an extremely important aspect of the Annual Meeting. Accordingly, the meeting provides special events designed for their needs and sessions that showcase their work. Similarly, the Program Committee works hard to ensure participation of women and under- represented minorities. The sole specific aim of this application is to promote the participation of trainees and junior investigators in the Annual Meeting through expansion of travel award and mentoring programs and provision of special sessions targeted to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical residents and fellows in pathology. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Annual Meeting of the American Society for Investigative Pathology offers a unique forum for the sharing of research results related to a wide spectrum of human disorders, with particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of cancer. Such sharing fosters more rapid advances in the understanding of human diseases such as cancer and accelerates the rate at which this knowledge can be applied to the development of diagnostic and prognostic tests as well as targeted therapies. A major goal of the meeting is to provide educational and career support to young investigators who are interested in cancer biology and experimental pathology.